James Franklin still trying to make Penn State elite, and a trip to Ohio State provides another chance

It was five seasons ago, after a gut-punch, 27-26 loss to Ohio State, that James Franklin declared that his Penn State program was close to the mountain top, but not quite there.

“We’ve gone from an average football team, to a good football team, to a great football team,” Franklin said. “But we’re not an elite team yet.”

Five years later, as another showdown with Ohio State looms at noon Saturday in Columbus, Penn State fans are still waiting.

The Nittany Lions are 6-0 and ranked sixth in the country. They are 17-2 in the last season and a half. Franklin, in his 10th season, has won 70% of his games. He’s coached Saquon Barkley, Micah Parsons and a ton of other stars. He appears en route to his fifth double-digit win season in Happy Valley; the current team is outscoring opponents 266-48. The roster is loaded. Recruiting is strong. He’s a likable guy with a likable team.

And yet … great … not elite.

Still.

The numbers are the numbers for Franklin. Every Penn State fan seems to know them by heart. Just 1-8 against Ohio State, with that lone victory coming back in 2016. Just 3-6 against Michigan. Against top 10 opponents, the Nittany Lions are 3-15 under Franklin. They have just one Big Ten title under Franklin and have never earned a bid to the College Football Playoff.

If Franklin delivered admirable growth from the program after Bill O’Brien and through the final years of the Jerry Sandusky-induced sanctions, Penn State has seemingly hit a ceiling. Beating Ohio State is never easy, but Jim Harbaugh and Michigan figured out how to do it and take over the Big Ten.

Why not Penn State? Why not now?

“[Our players] are trying to find a way to get a win this week against a really good team, against a program they have tremendous respect for, the talent they have,” Franklin said of the Buckeyes. “But [we want to] approach it the same every single week.

“Everyone on the outside is talking,” he continued, “but they’re approaching it the same way as every other week. Why is it an important game? Because of how they’ve handled the previous week. Each week is important.”

Yeah, that’s what coaches are supposed to say. It isn’t true though. Beating UMass 63-0 is not the same as what happens Saturday in the Horseshoe. Sure, you need one to get to the other, but five years after acknowledging the program was close, close probably shouldn’t be good enough.

It’s not that Franklin is on some coaching hot seat. He isn’t and shouldn’t be. The program’s frustration, though, should carry the day.

The last three losses in Columbus were decided in the fourth quarter, the 39-38 defeat in 2017 perhaps the most infuriating. A year later they blew another fourth-quarter lead and out came the “not elite” comment.

Franklin had clarified his comments through the years. He believed Penn State’s program was as good as anyone’s, but they had lost that day to an “elite team.” He has correctly pointed out that at least 90 percent of college football wishes its program was as strong as his, as popular as his, as relevant as his.

Then there is the fact that since joining the Big Ten in 1993 until Franklin arrived in 2014, Penn State went just 7-14 against Ohio State and 7-10 against Michigan. It’s not like this has ever been easy.

Yet, just last year, little had changed. Penn State held a 21-16 lead against Ohio State with 9:26 remaining only to fall apart on both sides of the ball and lose 44-31.

“Played really well for three quarters,” Franklin said. “And didn’t finish.”

That’s the thing about big-time college football, though, let alone the Big Ten East. There is always an elite team waiting. Michigan has long had a session of practice that focused on beating “Ohio.” Now it has one focused on beating “Georgia” as well.

That’s the sport. That the program is measured against such teams is a testament to where Franklin has gotten Penn State.

Ohio State is this Saturday. Michigan at home is on Nov. 11. Win those and the Big Ten and a playoff bid is there for the taking. He certainly has the team capable of that.

Lose one or both, though, and it’s back to the same old, same old.

Great, but not elite.